Sheet feeding mechanism



A. BROADMEYER 4SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Aug. 29, 1933.

Filed Aug. 6, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 rl Il.

Filed Aug. 6, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 aadmfyel;

Albe/'L61' Aug. 29, 1933- A. BROADMEYER SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM 5sheets-sheet :s

Filed Aug. 6, 1930 Jwwntoz SMM Aug. 29, 1933. A. BROADMEYER SHEETFEEDING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 6, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 29, 1933. A.BRoADMl-:YER

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 6, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l 3mm/toclerraadimqyw;

Patented @9 SHEET FEEEDING T/EUECDEANHST/Il Application August d, lg3d.Serial No. liiti One of the objects of the present invention is toprovide a relatively small and compact machine of a novel character thatis designed for small sheets or cards, though there are features 5involved. that are useful in other relations.

More particularly a light and simple support for the pile is providedthat is easily adjustable to the area of the sheets or cards.

Another and important object is to provide a novel mechanism that willseparate sheets which adhere to those being fed and return thorn forlater feeding.

A still further object is to provide novel mecha-s nisin for controllingthe elevation of the support and for positioning the sheets so that theywill be more available to the delivering device and to the air blastseparating them from the underlying sheets.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure i is a side elevation of an embodiment of the invention that isat present considered the preferable one.

ligure 2 is a vertical sectional view therethrough.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the structure.

Figure l is a detail horizontal sectional view through the suction heador roher.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5 5 of Figure Il.

Figure 8 is a plan View of a portion of the mechanism, parts being shownin section.

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view showing one of the guides andits mounting and is taken substantially on the line 'ln'l of Figure 3.

Figure f isv a vertical sectional View through the paper support andshowing one of the supporting brackets in elevation.

Figure 9 is a detail sectional view of the means for pushing theuppermost sheets rea e wardly. y

Figure lo is a plan view of the same.

iigurel il is a detail sectional ,view substantially on the line 'llliof Figure l, and showing the guideway and a portion of the carriage thatoperates therein. v

Figure i2 is a detail perspective view of one of the guides andindicating the manner in which the pile is associated therewith.

n Figure i3 is a perspective View of the holding @9 device for the blastnozzle.

in the embodiment disclosed, a frame is employed, including sidestandards la connected by suitable cross bars, one of which is square incross section, and designated i5. Each stand- 5 ard, as shown in Figurel1, is provided with inset longitudinal flanges, certain of which definea guideway lo. Vertical screws l'l are located in said guideways and arerotatably mounted.

On the screws and having threaded engagement therewith, are sleeves i8carrying outstanding brackets i9 that are connected by` cross rods 2Uand 2i, the latter being preferably square in cross section. Thesesleeves i8, brackets i9 and cross rods 20 and 2l constitute a verticallymovable carriage, forming a part of the support for the pile of sheetsto be fed. Mounted on the cross rods 2o and `.2l are braclrets 22, thecross rod 20 extending through openings 'm the bracl ets, and the crossrod 2l being engaged in notches 23 formed inthe lower ends of thebrackets. The tops of these brackets are provided with horizonn tal:danges or strips 24, constituting platforms on which the pile of sheetsor cards, shown at 25, rest. rlhe brackets4 being slidably mounted onthe rods, are thus adjustable toward and from each other, so that theplatforms or what may be termed the table, can be adjusted to thecrosssectional area of the pile of sheets. llhese brackets may be held by anysuitable means, as for ex|= ample, set screws 26 threaded therein anden- It@ gaging the cross rod 2i.

The upper ends of the screws l'l are provided with beveled gears 27engaged by other beveled gears 28 on a horizontal cross shaft 29. vlhiscross shaft extends beyond one of the standards iid and is provided withratchet mechanism, by which it is turned. To this end said shaft 29 (seeFigure l) is provided with the usual ratchet wheel 3o adapted to beengaged by a pawl Si mounted on a pawl carrier 32 that swings on theshaft 29 alongside the ratchet wheel. The pawl carrier 32 is provided atits free end with a roller 33 that rides the periphery of a cam 3d on adrive shaft .35 journaled in the standards lll parallel to the shaft 29.Therefore when the pawl carrier is free and the shaft 35 is rotating,the cani 3d will cause the carrier 32 to oscillate, permitting the pawl3l to alternately ride over the teeth of the ratchet wheel 3o, and thencausing saidfpawl to engage the teeth and turn the ratchet wheel andshaft 29, thus turning the screws ll and elevating the pue support; .f A

Mounted over the pile supportfand carried by the frame, is a rearwardlyextending arm 36. This; arm has adjustably mounted thereon a collar 37m5 which carries a transversely /disposed arm or bar B8. Slidablymounted on the bar 38 is a bracket v 39 that can be held by a set screwdo, the bracket having an upstanding portion lll provided with alongitudinal slot fia Lying against the portion ll@ Jill@ 41 is avertical bar 43 carrying a holding screw 44 that passes through the slot42. The lower end of this bar is forwardly and downwardly inclined asshown at 45, and has a stop enlargement 46 thereon. It will be noted byreference to Figures 1 and 9 that when the pile is moved upwardly by theelevation of the pile support, the front corner of the pile will strikethe lower inclined portion 45 of the bar, thereby forcing the uppermostsheets rearwardly. This rearward movement controls the operation of theratchet mechanism by the following means.

The pawl carrier 32, as shown in Figure 1, has a rearwardly extendingstop finger 47, and a holding device or detent finger 48, pivoted at 49,is adapted to move to and from a position beneath the said finger. Thisdetent 48 has an extensible yielding connection 50 with a depending arm51 on a rock shaft 52. The rock shaft extends across the frame behindthe pile, and as shown in Figure 2, carries an upstanding governorfinger 53 that is located in the path of the uppermost sheets pushedrearwardly. They arrangement therefore is such that when the pile hasbeen elevated and the sheets pushed rearwardly, they will in turn pressthe arm 53 rearwardly, thereby rocking the shaft 52, swinging the arm 5lforwardly, and through the link 50, causing the detent 48 to move to aposition beneath the finger 47. When so positioned, the roller 33 of thepawl carrier 32 cannot follow the depressed portion of the cam 34 andtherefore the pawl` 31 cannot ride over the teeth of the ratchet wheel30. The means for elevating the table is therefore held inactive. Whensheets, however, are fed from the top of the pile and the surface islowered, then the arm 53 can swing forwardly, as a consequence of whichthe detent 48 will move from under the iinger 47, allowing the pawlcarrier 32 to operate and be operated by the cam, thus turning thescrews and elevating the table until another lot of sheets has beenpushed rearwardly suciently to again swing the arm 53 rearwardly.

The means for feeding the sheets or delivering them from the top of thepile is preferably a rotary suction head or roller 54 carried by a shaft55. 'Ihis roller may be of any desired construction, but preferably, asshown in Figures 4 and 5, consists of a series of longitudinalpassageways 56 connecting respectively with sets of peripheral ports 57in the roller. The passageways 56 open through one end of the head, andwhen in their lowermost positions connect with a suction passageway 58formed in a collar 59 on the hub 60 of the suction roller. Thispassageway 58 extends into a nipple 61, to which is connected an exhaustpipe 62 leading to the intake of a suction fan or other vacuum creatingmeans (not shown). The collar 59 is also provided with a dependingenlargement 63, to the bottom' of which is secured a horizontal plate 64having an opening, into which the lower side of the suction head or roll54 extends. This roll, it will be noted, is located directly above therear portion of the top of the pile. which has been displaced by thedevice 45 In order to keep the pile and the sheets thereof in properposition, upright guides are mounted at the rear corners of the pile.These guides are preferably in the form of angle pieces having sideflanges 65 and rear flanges 66. In the angles the rear corners of thepile are located. The guides are supported on brackets 67 secured to therear flanges 66 and having yokes 68 that embrace the square frame rod15, to which they are secured by suitable set screws 69; 'Ihe cornerguides are thus laterally adjustable so that they can be placed inproper position when the pile supporting brackets are adjusted. At theirupper ends these guides are provided with upwardly and rearwardlyinclined portions 70 from which extend horizontal portions 71 thatunderlie the plate 64 and form an entrance throat 72 and a guideway 73(see Figure 2) It is into this throat 72 that the upper sheets of thepile are pushed by the device 45.

Cooperating with the suction head or roll 54, but operating in a reverserelation thereto, is a sheet separating and returning roll 74 mounted ona shaft 75, and preferably having a rubbercovered periphery or otherfriction forming surface. This roller 74 is located in rear of the pilebelow and slightly in rear of the suction roll 54 and is so positionedthat its periphery will operate in the throat 72. It is provided with aperipheral groove 76, in which the arm 53 operates, and in the rearportion of said groove there is preferablyy placed a blast nozzle 77that directs a blast of air forwardly toward the displaced sheets at thetop of the pile. The blast nozzle is carried by a vertical pipe 78adjustably fixed in a bracket 79. This bracket includes a split clamp orcollar 80 mounted on the square shaft 15 and contracted by a suitablyhandled bolt 81.

For the purpose of driving the various parts a main drive shaft 82 isprovided, having a gear 83 in mesh with a gear 84 on a cam shaft 35.This gear 83 also is in mesh with a gear 86 on the shaft of the roller74. The gear 86 furthermore meshes with an idler gear 87 that operates agear 88 xed to the shaft 55. The drive shaft 82 is provided withafroller 89, around which pass the usual belts 90 for carrying thesheets away from the feeding mechanism. Cooperating with the roller 89are pressure rollers 91 mounted on swinging arms 92 thatl are carried bya cross rod 93.

In the operation of this structure, a pile of sheets or cards is placedon the bracket 22 which are properly adjusted to support the same. Whenthe drive shaft is thrown into operation, then the said lower side ofthe suction roll will operate rearwardly while the upper side of thereturn roll 74 will move forwardly or in the direction of the arrowsshown in Figure 2. The pile support and pile are moved upwardly by theratchet mechanism until the upper sheets have been forced rearwardly soas to swing the arm 53 rearwardly and stop the ratchet mechanism. Thesuction roller operating intermittently in a well-known manner, willpick up the topmost sheet that has been blown upwardly by the blast fromthe nozzle 77 and move it rearwardly through the throat 72 and guideway73- until it is caught by the roller 89, rollers 91 and the tapes 90 andcarried rearwardly. Should an underlying sheet adhere to the sheet thusbeing fed, it will be engaged by the forwardly acting surface of theroll 74' and this will act to remove the attached sheet and return it,leaving the upper sheet free to pass onward. The attached sheet is thusin position to be the next operated on.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation andmany advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art without further description, and it will beunderstood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages ofthe invention.

neaaeoa What I claim, is:

l. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of means for feeding the sheets in an edgewisedirection and rearwardly from the top of a pile on the support, meansfor elevating the support toward the feeding means, means for causingthe upper sheets of the pile to be moved rearwardly to project theirrear ends beyond the pile when the support is elevated, means forpositioning the pile including rearwardly inclined stops at the top forlimiting the rearward movement of the top sheets, and means fordirecting a blast of air against the rearwardly projecting margins ofthe said sheets.

2. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymoving pile support, of means for elevating it and a pile placed.thereon, an arm overhanging the pile support, a depending forwardlyinclined ringer adjustably mounted on the arm and having means forfixing it thereto, forming an inclined way that is located in the pathof the'top of the pile to push the sheets thereof rearwardly, andmechanism for removing successively the top sheets which have been sopushed.

3. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with'a verticallymovable pile support, of means for removing sheets successively from thetop of a pile on the support, mechanism for elevating the support towardthe removing means as the sheets are removed, means for laterallyoffsetting the uppermost sheets or" the pile as the support is elevated,and means controlled by the oiset sheets to govern the operation of thesup port moving mechanism.

il. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of means over the rear portion of the support forremoving sheets from the top of a pile placed on the support, mechanismfor elevating the pile 'support, means for pushing the uppermost sheetsof the pile rearwardly as the support is elevated, and means forcontrolling the operation of the support elevating mechanism including agoverning device in the path of and operated bythe sheets that arepushed rearwardly.

5. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of means over the rear portion of the support :forremoving sheets from the top of a pile placed on the support, mechanismfor elevating the pile support, means for pushing the uppermost sheetsof the pile rearwardly as the support is elevated, and means forcontrolling the operation of the support elevating mechanism, includinga governing nnger located in rear .of `the upper portion of the pile andactuated by the edges of the sheets pushed rearwardly.

6. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of means over the rear portion of the support forremoving sheets from the top of a pile placed on the support, pawl andratchet mechanism for elevating the pile support, means above the frontportion of the support for pushing rearwardly the uppermost sheets ofthe pile as the support is elevated, ay detent for holding the pawl andratchet mechanism inactive, and means for operating the detent includinga finger-at the rear of the pile that is pushed against and moved by thesheets when pushed rearwardly.

'7. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of mechanism for elevating it, a rotary suctionhead above the rear portion of the support, means for rotating the headin a direction to remove sheets from the support, a separating andreturn roll below the head having an annular groove, means :for rotatingthe roll to cause its upper face to move in a direction opposite to thelower face of the suction head, means for pushing rearwardly the uppersheets of the pile, and means for controlling the operation or" thesupport elevating mechanism including a governing device that operatesin the groove of the roll and is engaged and operated by the sheets whenpushed rearwardly. f

8. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of pawl and-ratchet mechanism for elevating it, arotary suction head above the rear portion of the support, means forrotating the head in a direction to remove sheets from the support, aseparating and return roll below the head having an annular groove,means for rotating the roll to cause its upper face to move in adirection opposite to the lower face of the suction head, means forpushing rearwardly the upper sheets or the pile, a detent for holdingthe pawl and ratchet mechanism against operation, and operating meansfor the detent including a swinging linger that operates in the grooveof the-roll and fis engaged and operated by the sheets when. pushedrearwardly.

9. in a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of pawl and ratchet mechanism for elevating it, arotary suction head above the rear portion of the support, means forrotating the head in a MU direction to remove sheets from the support, aV separating and return roll below the head having an annular groove,means for rotating the roll to cause its upper face to move in adirection opposite to the lower face oi the suction head, means forpushing rearwardly the upper sheets of the'pile, a detent for holdingthe pawl and ratchet mechanism against operation, operating means forthe detent including a swinging nger that operates in the groove of theroll and is engaged and operated by the sheets when pushed rearwardly,and a blast nozzle for separating the sheets, said nozzle being alsolocated in the groove of the roller,

lo. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combina- 325 tion with avertically movable pile support, of ratchet mechanism for elevating it,a rotary suction roll above the rear portion of the support, a fugitivesheet return roll below the suction roll and at the rear of ,the supportabove the same, 330 means for rotating the Arolls to cause theiropposing faces to move in opposite directions, means above the irontside of the support for pushing the uppermost sheets of the pile towardthe return roll, a detent for the ratchet mechanism, and operating meansfor the detent including a finger located in the path of the sheetspushed rearwardly and moved by said sheets. 1l. In a sheet feedingapparatus, the combination with means for delivering sheets from the topof a pile, of a pile support movable toward the delivering means, saidsupport comprising a carrier, and brackets mounted on the carrier andhaving -rnountings thereon that are relatively adjustable toward andfrom each other to permit the bodily adjustment of the brackets andpeignit them to support piles of diiferent areas.

12. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with means fordelivering sheets from the top of a pile, of vertical screws, means forrotating' the screws, a carrier frame engaged with and moved by thescrews, and pile supporting brackets having reciprocable mountings onthe frame to secure the bodily adjustment of the brackets toward andfrom each other.

13. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a frame, of meansmounted thereon for delivering sheets from the top of a pile, a pilesupport including a vertically movable carriage and substantiallyparallel pile-holding brackets reciprocably mounted on the carriage andbodily adjustable toward and from each other, upright pile guides alongwhich the brackets operate, and means for mounting the guides on theframe and permitting their adjustment toward and from each other.

14, In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a frame, of meansmounted thereon for delivering sheets from the top of a pile, a pilesupport including a vertically movable carriage and pile-holdingbrackets mounted on the carriage and adjustable toward and from eachother, upright guides angular in cross section and receiving the rearportions of the brackets, and mountings for said guides that permittheir adjustment toward and from each other.

15. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of an overlying roller for delivering sheets fromthe top of a pile placed on the support, an overlying` guide platethrough which the lower portion of the roller extends, and an upstandingpile guide at the rear of the pile support, said guide having arearwardly extending portion at its upper end that underlies the plateand forms therewith a guideway for the sheets moved by the roller.

16. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a verticallymovable pile support, of an overlying roller for delivering sheets fromthe top of a pile placed on the support, an overlying guide platethrough which the lowei` portion of the roller extends, an upstandingpile guide at the rear of the pile support, said guide having arearwardly extending portion at its upper end that underlies the plateand forms therewith a guideway for the sheets moved by the roller, and aseparating and return roller operating in the lower portion of saidguideway to detach adhering sheets from the sheets being moved by theoverlying roller. K

17. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with 'a frameincluding upright standards having guideways, of vertical screws at theguideways, a vertical carriage engaged with the screws and guideways andhaving a cross bar, pile supporting brackets on the cross bar andadjustable thereon, angle guide strips at the rear ends of the brackets,mountings for said strips that permit the adjustment with the brackets,said strips having rearwardly extending portions at their upper ends, aplate overlying said portions, a rearwardly operating suction rollhaving its lower portion passing through the plate, a forwardlyoperating roll below the plate and between the rearwardly extendingportions of the guide strips, a downwardly extending forwardly inclineddevice above the front portion of the brackets and operating to push theupper sheets of the pile over the rearwardly extending portions of theguide strips, ratchet mechanism for operating the screws, a detent forholding the ratchet mechanism inoperative, and a finger for operatingthe detent located between the rearwardly extending portions of theguides and moved by the sheets pushed thereover. i

18. In a sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a pile supportand means for elevating it, of a fixed rearwardly inclined device thatengages the front corner of a pile placed on the support and pushes thetop portion of the pile rearwardly when the pile is elevated, and asheet feeding device located over the upper rear portions of the sheetsdisplaced rearwardly by said inclined device and operating on the topface only 'of the topmost sheet to feed the same rearwardly.

ALBERT BROADMEYER.

